The Winners and Losers from Week 8 vs. Cleveland Browns
The Baltimore Ravens drop the win against the Cleveland Browns in a disappointing 29-24 loss. Below are my winners and losers for Sunday’s game.
Winners
Lamar Jackson: He delivered the ball effectively throughout the game. A few passes were dangerous, in-and-out of the arms of Browns defenders, but overall was an effective passer. There are plays he will want back, be it the Zay Flowers deep ball in the first half or the incompletion to Likely on 3rd & 1 where he was wide open but Jackson was under duress.
But in their touchdown drive, Jackson made it possible. The Ravens were backed up to their nine-yard line and he evaded multiple defenders in his own end zone and found a 22-yard gain. He gashed them again for six yards, before delivering back-to-back completions for a total of 38 yards. He did his job as he left the field with the Ravens up on the scoreboard.
Mark Andrews: The continued resurgence of Andrews as a pass-catcher has continued as he reeled in all five of his targets for 36 yards and a touchdown. He now has 10 touchdown receptions against the Browns.
Derrick Henry: On a slow afternoon, he finished with 73 yards on 11 carries, including a 39 yard gain and touchdown on another. He’s scored in each Ravens game this season. Unfortunately, his production outside of the 39-yard gain was middling, going for 34 yards and the touchdown on 10 carries.
Kyle Hamilton: Ultimately, Hamilton dropped the win. An easy catch was right there for the taking and yet he dropped it. But if not for Hamilton, the Ravens aren’t in this game. He stopped the Browns’ offense on multiple occasions and created the lone takeaway for the defense, strip-sacking Jameis Winston. He, like the Ravens, came up short and let it slip through his fingers.
Run Defense: The Ravens’ run defense began to fracture in this game but strengthened as the game wore on, even without Michael Pierce and Brent Urban. Partially due to the Browns finding success in the passing game rather than running, but they still managed to hold Nick Chubb to 52 yards and the Browns rushing offense as a whole to 80 yards.
Losers
Play-calling: The aggression was the right move. The Ravens have won games due to their aggression and trusting their stars. But the plays to get the yardage or the critical advances were suspect. Removing Jackson as the quarterback on 4th & 1 to put Henry in at wildcat was a poor plan.
Third-down defense: The Ravens have been the worst third-down defense the past three games (53.49%). Against the Browns, who rank dead last in converting on third-down, they went eight-of-15 (53%). They simply cannot get off the field and as a result, were on the field for 66 plays. They’re getting wore down and it’s snow-balling into games of this nature.
Justin Tucker: After getting his kicking woes sorted the past few games, his miss in the fourth quarter from 50 yards will be analyzed again.
Eddie Jackson: The veteran free agent addition before the regular season has struggled to perform. In a game without Williams, it gave him an opportunity to find a bigger role. Instead, he allowed two touchdowns and was targeted consistently by Winston.
Jalyn Armour-Davis: The Ravens were down two starting cornerbacks and needed their depth to step up. Armour-Davis ultimately couldn’t deliver as Winston went after him on numerous occasions.
Drops: Offense, defense, you name it. The Ravens had the plays to be made in their grasp, but dropped them. Bateman had two drops. Agholor had one, maybe two. The secondary dropped numerous interceptions, from Hamilton to Jackson and beyond.
Pass rush: Entering this game, the Ravens were top five in sacks, but it wasn’t shown in this game as they looked desperate to generate pressure on Winston. They finished with two sacks on Winston, both before the end of the first half.
David Ojabo: The Ravens’ hope and expectation for Ojabo has hit a new low as he was healthy-scratched against the Browns. The Ravens opted to play Yannick Ngakoue and Tavius Robinson over Ojabo in this contest. There is a silver-lining in this one as the pass rush struggled without Ojabo. Maybe this lights a fire for him, as he’s struggled himself to generate pressure with five total on the season.
Marcus Williams: Though Williams wasn’t ruled out as an inactive like Ojabo, he did not play on Sunday. Head Coach John Harbaugh called it a “personnel decision” when asked why he didn’t play, which means he has not played well enough to be on the field on Sunday. The Ravens chose to play Jackson, Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington over Williams.